Coming April 4 to All Souls at Sundown:

Bill Charlap, piano

Pianist Bill Charlap, the son of Broadway composer Moose Charlap (“Peter Pan”) and singer Sandy Stewart (Benny Goodman) has performed with Benny Carter, Clark Terry, Milt Hinton, Louie Bellson, and Tony Bennett, as well as appearing on over 50 CDs as a sideman.

His first trio album, Souvenir (CrissCross Jazz), received the following praise from Peter Watrous in The New York Times: “pianist Bill Charlap's Souvenir has ease and elegance that are rarely found in jazz, especially among young musicians.” Charlap's next trio album, Distant Star, was awarded 41/2 stars in DownBeat and was described as “an absolute must get CD,” by Dr. Herb Wang in the Jazz Educators Journal. Now with All Through the Night, Charlap brings a fresh point of view to the world of American popular song.

“ He is the best, but least well known, of a swarm of gifted pianists who have appeared in New York in the past ten years or so. Unlike many of the younger pianists, whose tastes tend to be parochial, Charlap has absorbed every pianist worth listening to in the past fifty years.
He has a formidable technique, but he never shows off, even though he will let loose epic runs, massive staccato chords, racing upper-register tintinnabulations, and, once in a while, some dazzling counterpoint, his hands pitted against each other. His sound shines; each note is rounded. Best of all, in almost every number, regardless of its speed, he leaves us a phrase, a group of irregular notes, an ardent bridge that shakes us.”

— The New Yorker (April 19, 1999)